Arts Editor: After the storm

This week’s newsletter is going to be brief. It was prepared in advance of Hurricane Milton, just in case I had no power to produce it. First of all, I hope you and your friends and loved ones made it through with as little damage as possible. I had my fingers crossed for days. I stayed home in a house that was built to withstand at least a category 4 storm, and I took in some friends who had to evacuate their own homes.

In the wake of a storm that looked as fierce and dangerous as Milton, most of what's in today's newsletter seems pretty unimportant as people are recovering (once again) and hoping to rebuild. But I also see the arts as a respite from problems in the world or at least as an opportunity to help us thinking about those issues in a different way. So maybe a big party The Ringling or a new play at Urbanite Theatre might help take you away from the reality of the problems our community is facing. That is, if the storm allows them to continue. We'll be updating you on schedule changes and more as much as possible in the days ahead.

Wishing you all well.

Jay Handelman

Arts Editor

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Arts Editor: After the storm